HSBC chair meets Chinese vice president in effort to deepen ties: state media
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with HSBC chair Mark Tucker in Beijing on Monday and urged the Asia-focused lender to deepen cooperation with the country, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Xinhua reported that Han urged the firm to “deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with China” and improve Hong Kong’s, the bank’s regional headquarters, status as an international financial hub.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock index, which includes many major Chinese stocks, fell to its lowest level in 14 months on Monday as investors soured over China’s deflationary pressures and stagnation in its property market.
Tucker reportedly said HSBC, which has diversified itself away from China in recent years, had “firm confidence in investing in China” and would “actively participate” to make Hong Kong an international financial hub.
The state added that Tucker pledged to “promote mutually beneficial cooperation between Britain and China to achieve more results”.
Tucker said HSBC would have an active role in China’s “high-quality development”, according to Xinhua.
HSBC was one of six foreign banks to be granted licences from China last week to serve as lead underwriters in debt issuance.
The bank last year fought off a campaign led by its biggest investor, Ping An, to split its Asia business into a separate company.
Chief executive Noel Quinn has repeatedly sought to reassure investors that the worst of China’s commercial real estate crisis is over and that it is “open to the international business community”.
HSBC did not respond to a request for comment on Xinhua’s report.